NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen has taken a spot in the 2026 Chase standings after top-ten finishes in two consecutive races. Friesen finished ninth at Lime Rock Park followed by an eighth-place run at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Friesen took his Chase spot from Tyler Ankrum. Both drivers have 336 points, but Ankrum is shuffled to 11th on the tiebreaker of highest finish. Two races ago Ankrum was ninth in points with a 23-point cushion to the cutoff line. Now he’s on the outside looking in, if only barely.
While Friesen was assembling his first two-week stretch of top-10s so far this season, Ankrum was in the midst of an untimely downturn. Both drivers whiffed at Naval Base Coronado; Ankrum placed 31st and Friesen 33rd. The momentum quickly changed at Lime Rock Park, where Ankrum turned in a 25th-place finish. He improved only marginally with a 19th-place result at North Wilkesboro.
Despite his strong run at Lime Rock Park, Friesen entered that weekend 10 points outside the Chase and left down 17. This coincided with Jake Garcia dropping from 10th to 12th with a 22nd-place finish. With Garcia no longer occupying the cutoff line, Friesen’s target shifted Ankrum, who was ninth entering the weekend. Then in just one race at North Wilkesboro, Friesen turned his 17-point deficit into a tiebreaker in his favor.
Stewart Friesen is fighting for his first Truck Series postseason entry since 2022. He finished sixth in the standings that year and in 2021, missing the Championship 4 of NASCAR’s prior format. Last year his chances were dashed after an injury with 10 races remaining. If the momentum stays in Friesen’s favor for three more events, 2026 may prove a rebound year for the 42-year-old.
Unfortunately for forecasting that stretch, there’s the issue of incomplete data. Friesen did not run at two of the next three tracks on the schedule in 2025. He scored a 35th-place finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park, but hasn’t seen Richmond Raceway or New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 2024 and 2017 respectively.
Ankrum, meanwhile, is coming off an eighth-place run at Indianapolis Raceway Park and 11th at both Richmond and New Hampshire. Plus, he could shift the tiebreaker in his favor if he can top Friesen’s season-best fourth-place finish in the next three races.
The prospect of missing the Truck Series Chase signifies an overall down year for the 25-year-old. He has only one top-five to date, compared to seven top-fives and a win this time last year. The veteran McAnally-Hilgemann Racing made the 2025 Truck Series playoffs and was the lowest-finishing of the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.
Truck Series Standings as of North Wilkesboro
- Layne Riggs (34) +304
- Kaden Honeycutt (11) +245
- Chandler Smith (38) +178
- Christian Eckes (91) +147
- Gio Ruggero (17) +131
- Ty Majeski (88) +64
- Ben Rhodes (99) +50
- Daniel Hemric (19) +40
- Grant Enfinger (9) +20
- Stewart Friesen (52) +0
- Tyler Ankrum (18) -0
- Jake Garcia (98) -11
- Brenden Queen (12) -23
- Andrés Pérez de Lara (44) -31
- Tanner Gray (15) -40
- Justin Haley (16) -41
- Dawson Sutton (26) -96
- Mini Tyrrell (14) -113
- Cole Butcher (13) -117
- Kris Wright (81) -142
Note: Part-time driver Corey Heim is 14th in points but is ineligible for the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase.
